Govt must release Pike legal documents

The Government must
immediately release all correspondence between Crown
lawyers, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
staff, and Peter Whittal's counsel after one of Mr Whittal's
lawyers revealed discussions over Pike River charges were
started by the Government, Labour's Justice spokesperson
Andrew Little says.

Stacey Shortall of law firm Minter
Ellison Rudd Watts said today that any suggestion it was Mr
Whittal's defence team that initiated discussions about the
prosecution being resolved without trial is
incorrect.

“The firm supports the release of
correspondence between the parties.

"Stacey Shortall has
taken a courageous position for a lawyer in supporting the
release of the letters. In light of her revelations the
Government should now release the documents as a matter of
urgency.

"This was one of New Zealand's worst workplace
tragedies and even after a Royal Commission found serious
fault with the operation of the mine, no one in control of
the company has been personally called to account.

"The
one attempt to bring a senior manager to book was stopped in
its tracks in mysterious circumstances, and it's time to
shine a light on what happened.

"All correspondence,
including memoranda filed with the court, should be released
to ease the public anxiety that a tawdry deal was done,”
says Andrew Little.

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